Robert Downey Jr.'s first role, when he was 5. Jimmy Kimmel From Pepsi and Bubble Yum commercials to failed sitcoms and small guest roles, A-list celebrities were once struggling trying to make it in the business, just like everyone else in Hollywood, before they started getting award-winning roles.

Samuel L. Jackson didn't jump right into Tarantino movies. He was trained and started on stage. Johnny Depp was pursuing a music career before he got into acting, and Kerry Washington was popping up in educational videos before dominating in "Scandal."

We took a look back at 16 A-list celebrities before they were the recognizable names we know today.

Jennifer Lawrence

Before Jennifer Lawrence became an Academy Award-winning actress and franchise star, she started out modeling and acting in small commercials. She earned her Screen Actors Guild card when she was 14 thanks to a promotional video for MTV's "My Super Sweet 16."

That same year, she also appeared in a Burger King video as a potential girlfriend to the Whopper Jr.

Bradley Cooper

The four-time Oscar nominee made his TV debut with a guest spot on season two of "Sex and the City." He picks Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) up at a bar and the two briefly make out in a car, but Carrie leaves after he returns with her New York magazine cover story.

Brad Pitt

Pitt's career began to take off after his supporting role in "Thelma and Louise," but Pitt's earlier roles included uncredited appearances in film's such as "Hunk" and "Less Than Zero." He also popped up in some commercials, including this one for Pringles back in the '80s.

Jennifer Aniston

Aniston's professional breakthrough came after she landed the role of Rachel Green on "Friends," but her first TV appearance was in the short-lived series "Molloy," alongside Mayim Bialik ("The Big Bang Theory"). Only seven episodes of the show aired.

Will Smith

Smith wanted to be a rapper, and at the age of 16, Smith and a friend dubbed themselves DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. The duo even won a Grammy in 1988, but after coming into some trouble with the IRS, Smith lost much of his income. He found critical (and financial) success in 1990 with "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." In that same year, before "Fresh Prince" premiered, Smith actually appeared in two ABC specials, including"The Earth Day Special."

You can see Smith rap below, along with appearances by Quincy Jones, Tone Loc, Queen Latifah, and Ice-T.

Leonardo DiCaprio

In a 1998 interview with People, DiCaprio revealed that his career began with television ads, particularly after landing one for Matchbox cars when he was 14. Other ads include this '80s Bubble Yum commercial. His ad starts at 15 seconds.

Johnny Depp

Depp first moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of a music career and shifted to acting after his wife at the time introduced him to Nicolas Cage. Depp's first role was in Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Watch his brutal death scene below:

Viola Davis

Davis began her career on stage in an off-Broadway production of "As You Like It" in 1992 and earned her SAG card in 1996 for her small role in "The Substance of Fire." One of her earliest screen roles was in "Out of Sight," also starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez (that's her in it above).

Chris Pratt

Pratt was 19 years old, living out of a van in Maui, Hawaii, and waiting tables at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, when actress Rae Dawn Chong came to the restaurant to eat. She ended up casting Pratt in a horror comedy she was directing called "Cursed Part III." It was never released, but Pratt soon landed a role on the WB teen drama "Everwood."

Aziz Ansari

Before Ansari wrote, starred in, and directed some episodes of his critically acclaimed "Master of None," he was performing stand-up and making short videos with friends, such as "Shutterbugs," which later resulted in"Human Giant," an MTV sketch-comedy show featuring Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer.

Samuel L. Jackson

Jackson discovered a love for acting in college and began his career on stage, but he made his film debut in "Together for Days," an independent blaxploitation film. He soon transitioned to TV roles, including a part in the short television film "The Displaced Person."

Mark Ruffalo

Before he was a two-time Academy Award nominee, Ruffalo was zapping zits in a 1989 Clearasil commercial. Jimmy Fallon unearthed this ad, which Ruffalo said he "vaguely" remembered, and showed it during "The Tonight Show." Ruffalo recalled what the director told him after his audition: "It just seemed like you came right off the street, like you don't know how to act at all."

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